| Media Contact: Laine Slater, laine@viff.org or 604.685.0262 x 809 |
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For a printable version of this release, click here. |
On the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the handover of Hong Kong from British rule to Mainland China, the Vancity Theatre is pleased to present:
Hong Kong Stories
June 29-30, July 1-2, 4-7 |
| | HONG KONG STORIES includes a broad selection of classic films from past and present set and filmed in Hong Kong, many of which confront issues raised by the handover head-on. This series is presented in cooperation with the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, and with the help of the Hong Kong Film Archive, Leisure and Cultural Services Department. |
|  | ELECTION 1
June 29, July 5, 7:30
HONG KONG 2005 // Director: Johnnie To // 100 min // 35mm
ELECTION 2
July 5, 9:30
HONG KONG 2006 // Director: Johnnie To // 92 min // 35mm
June 29 screening of Election 2 cancelled, replacement TBA
| VANCOUVER PREMIERES
Johnnie To's landmark Triad epics, Election 1 and Election 2, chart a Hong Kong underworld in the process of internal conflict, with one eye on the past, and another on the massive potential provided by the Mainland. "Far from another slick celebration of the Hong Kong gangster lifestyle, Johnnie To's ambitious pair of underworld dramas shows how the ruthless code of the Triad gangs corrodes the souls of everyone who abides by it. Both films reveal the political machinations and violent confrontations caused by elections in a venerable Hong Kong clan. The first movie is dominated by a long chase sequence as competitors vie for a Dragon's Head Baton, the clan's symbol of power. In the more satisfying and even more cynical follow-up, a rising, MBA-toting gangster named Jimmy (Louis Koo) tries to become chief in order to improve his stead with new business contacts in China. Closer in spirit and mood to The Godfather than A Better Tomorrow, To's double shot is a landmark work for HK cinema."-Jason Anderson, eye Weekly |
|  | ROUGE
June 30, 7:30
HONG KONG 1987 // Director: Stanley Kwan // 96 min // 35mm
| | Stanley Kwan's acclaimed melodrama studies a tragic love affair from the '30s and a more, placid, everyday one from the present. The late Anita Mui stars as Fleur, a courtesan in love with Chen-Pang (Leslie Cheung). His parents do not approve, and the two lovers agree to commit suicide. In the '80s sequence, Fleur returns as a ghost. A subtle, anti-commercialism theme underlies Fleur's confusion about what Hong Kong has become, and there are many allusions to the impending handover. And, of course, the film is haunted by the tragic fates of its two great lead stars. |
|  | THE ORPHAN
July 1, 7:30; July 4, 9:30
Hong Kong 1960 // Director: Li Changfeng // 100 min // 35mm
| | The first colour film made in Cantonese stars a young Bruce Lee as Ah San, a delinquent bailed out of jail by the director of a boys' home. This Hong Kong classic of social realism features location shooting and archival footage, and locates the cause of social problems in the trauma and loss caused by war and displacement. |
|  | THE KILLER
July 1, 9:30; July 7, 7:30
HONG KONG 1989 // Director: John Woo // 110 min // 35mm
| | What would a series on Hong Kong filmmaking be without John Woo? The Killer is perhaps his most demented, over-the-top, action packed epic, with, of course, Chow Yun-Fat as a contract killer who accidentally blinds a nightclub singer, then takes one last job to pay for her cornea transplant. Much mayhem ensues. |
|  | AS TEARS GO BY
July 2, 7:30; July 7, 9:40
Hong Kong 1988 // Director: Wong Kar-wai // 102 min // 35mm
| | Though as gritty as any '80s Hong Kong gangster picture, this is a watershed film heralding one of the most auspicious directorial debuts in international cinema. Wong Kar-wai's visually stunning and romantic first feature, featuring Andy Lau and Maggie Cheung, deftly smuggles the director's now celebrated genius into an incendiary "Heroic Bloodshed" street opera. |
|  | THE LONG ARM OF THE LAW
July 2, 9:30
HONG KONG 1984 // Director: Johnnie Mak // 100 min // 35mm
| | The beginning of the Hong Kong Action New Wave can be found in Johnnie Mak's astonishing, rarely screened thriller, the saga of a group of Mainland friends who cross into Hong Kong to set up a Triad gang. Amongst its many delights is a climactic shootout in the legendary Walled City of Kowloon not long before it was levelled. |
|  | BOAT PEOPLE
July 4, 7:30; July 6, 9:15
HONG KONG 1982 // Director: Ann Hui // 111 min // 35mm
| | Ann Hui's film is an important landmark of the Hong Kong New Wave. Boat People follows a Japanese journalist who arrives in Vietnam intent on documenting the country's recovery from the war, and has his eyes opened to the oppressive living conditions of the North Vietnamese. Implicitly anti-communist, and read as an allegory for the fate of Hong Kong after the handover, Boat People was banned in China at the time of its release. |
|  | PERSONAL MEMOIRS OF HONG KONG: AS TIME GOES BY & STILL LOVE YOU AFTER ALL THESE YEARS
June 30, 9:15
Taiwan 1997 // Director: Ann Hui, Stanley Kwan// 58 + 43 min // BetaSp
| Two personal documentaries made in the final months of British rule by two of Hong Kong's most important directors. For her film, Ann Hui gathers schoolmates together to have a chat about their past, while Stanley Kwan also looks back, with the touchstone being his deep identification with Cantonese opera.
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|  | 0506HK
July 6, 7:30
Hong Kong/Canada/USA 2007 // Director: Quentin Lee // 63 min // HD
| WORLD PREMIERE // FILMMAKER IN ATTENDANCE
0506HK documents filmmaker Quentin Lee's return to Hong Kong, where he was born and raised. As he explores his desire to move back, he interviews local artists, filmmakers, friends, and family about why they chose to stay on the island. With humour and wit, Lee explores culture, belonging, and politics one decade after the handover. Part autobiography, part travelogue, and part cultural criticism.
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|  | | VIFC TICKETS AND INFO | Call the Starbucks Hotline 604.683.FILM (3456) for the latest info and listings. Tickets can be purchased in advance on-line at www.vifc.org or in person 30 minutes before showtime.
Double Bill Pricing!
The Vancity Theatre is offering double bills at a special price. At just $12 for two films ($10 for Students/Seniors and Bronze and above members), it's one of the cheapest (and still most comfy) seats in town!
Note: Double Bill pricing is not available for online sales. However, you can purchase your first ticket online at the regular price and get the double-bill price on the second ticket when you arrive at the box office. Double Bills are two consecutive films on the same day at the Vancity Theatre; rentals and Special Events are not included.
Adult tickets: $9.50 (Double Bill - $12)
Student/Senior $7.50 (Double Bill - $10)
Matinees $7.50
Bronze and above members receive a $2 discount on their tickets. (Double Bill - $10)
Silver and above members also receive a $2 discount for a guest ticket.
As a registered non-profit society, the VIFC screens films that have not always been seen by the BC Film Classification Board. Under BC law, any person wishing to see these unclassified films must belong to the VIFC Society and be 18 years or older. Valid for one year based on the date of purchase, the VIFC basic membership cost is $12, but includes the ticket price of your first film.
Please note that membership benefits and restrictions are valid for VIFC presentations only. They are not applicable to Vancity Theatre "Rental" presentations by other organizations.
For More Membership Information go to http://www.vifc.org/membership.html.Vancity Theatre is located at 1181 Seymour St. (at Davie) | |
